campaign finance

Davenport v. Washington Education Association; Washington v. Washington Education Association

Issues

  1. Does a labor union have a First Amendment right to spend the wages of non-union members for political purposes?
  2. Does a law requiring labor unions to obtain the permission of non-union members before using their paid fees for political purposes (instead of allowing the unions to use such fees from any nonmembers who do not expressly opt out of such use) unconstitutionally violate the unions' First Amendment rights?

 

The State of Washington and several Washington educational employees brought suit against the Washington Education Association alleging that the union impermissibly used non-union member “shop fees” to finance political activities in violation of Wash. Rev. Code § 42.17.760's requirement that the union receive affirmative authorization from nonmembers before using their fees for political purposes. The Washington Supreme Court sided with the union and struck down § 760 as unconstitutional. Washington argues that the union does not have a First Amendment right to use shop fees for political purposes. The union responds that § 760 essentially blocks its ability to assert a collective political voice and must survive strict scrutiny to pass constitutional muster. The Supreme Court's decision will determine the balance of First Amendment protection granted to a labor union relative to the protection afforded to dissenting nonmembers who pay shop fees.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

  1. Do labor union officials have a First Amendment right to seize and use for politics the wages of employees who have chosen not to become union members?
  2. Does a state campaign finance law that prohibits labor unions and their officials from seizing and using the wages of nonmembers for partisan political campaigns without obtaining the nonmembers' affirmative consent violate the First Amendment rights of labor unions?
  3. Does the requirement in Wash. Rev. Code § 42.17.760 that nonmembers must affirmatively consent (opt-in) before their fees may be used to support the union's political agenda violate the union's First Amendment rights?

The Washington Employment Association (WEA) is the exclusive bargaining agent for 70,000 Washington state educational employees. Washington State Public Disclosure Commission v. Washington Education Association (WEA), 130 P.3d 352, 354 (2006).

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Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate

Issues

Does Section 304 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (“BCRA”), which imposes a $250,000 cap on the amount of post-election funds a campaign can use to reimburse a candidate’s personal loans, impermissibly burden a candidate’s First Amendment right to free speech; and does a party seeking to invalidate a regulation implemented pursuant to that statutory provision have standing to challenge the statute?

This case asks the Supreme Court to decide whether Section 304 of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (“BCRA”), which bars a campaign from disbursing more than $250,000 in post-election contributions to refund a candidate’s personal loans, violates the First Amendment. The Federal Election Commission (“the FEC”) contends that Senator Cruz’s current inability to obtain full reimbursement for his loan was not caused by Section 304, and that Cruz therefore lacks standing to challenge Section 304. Senator Ted Cruz and Ted Cruz for Senate (collectively, “Ted Cruz”) counter that Section 304 directly injures them, and that the statute should be held unconstitutional under the First Amendment for unjustifiably deterring candidates from exercising their free speech right to contribute to their own campaigns. The outcome of this case has implications for litigants who must establish standing to challenge allegedly unconstitutional government action in the courts, and the constitutionality of limits on the use of post-election funds for loan-repayment.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

Whether appellees have standing to challenge the statutory loan-repayment limit; and whether the loan-repayment limit violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.

In order to guard against actual and apparent quid pro quo corruption, Congress promulgated federal campaign financing restrictions through the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (“FECA”). Ted Cruz for Senate v. Fed.

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McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission

Issues

Do aggregate limits on individual political contributions substantially burden the First Amendment right to freedom of association?

The Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) regulates contributions to political campaigns through base limits, the amount one person can give to a single candidate, and aggregate limits, the total amount an individual can give to any number of candidates or political committees. Shaun McCutcheon, a contributor to various candidates and organizations, sued the FEC in district court alleging that aggregate limits infringe his First Amendment rights to freedom of expression and association. He argues that aggregate limits are no longer necessary to satisfy the legitimate government purpose of preventing circumvention of base limits. He alleges that aggregate limits are overbroad and that the only purpose they serve is to prevent affluent donors from associating themselves with candidates. The FEC argues that aggregate limits prevent donors from circumventing base limits, reduce the appearance of corruption, and prevent any given donor from exercising impermissible influence over a politician. In September 2012, the district court upheld the aggregate limits, finding the limits constitutionally permissible. The Supreme Court will determine the permissible constitutional balance between the exercise of First Amendment rights through political contributions and the government’s interest in regulating campaign finance law. This implicates the boundaries of the First Amendment, and raises questions about campaign finance, the role of individual donors in politics, and the freedom of association.

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Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

Federal law imposes two types of limits on individual political contributions. Base limits restrict the amount an individual may contribute to a candidate committee ($2,500 per election), a national-party committee ($30,800 per calendar year), a state, local, and district party committee ($10,000 per calendar year (combined limit)), and a political-action committee ("PAC") ($5,000 per calendar year). 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(1) (current limits provided). Biennial limits restrict the aggregate amount an individual may contribute biennially as follows: $46,200 to candidate committees; $70,800 to all other committees, of which no more than $46,200 may go to non-national-party committees (e.g., state parties and PACs). 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3) (current limits provided) (see Appendix at 20a (text of statute)). Appellants present five questions:

  1. Whether the biennial limit on contributions to non-candidate committees, 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)(B), is unconstitutional for lacking a constitutionally cognizable interest as applied to contributions to national-party committees.
  2. Whether the biennial limits on contributions to non-candidate committees, 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)(B), are unconstitutional facially for lacking a constitutionally cognizable interest.
  3. Whether the biennial limits on contributions to non-candidate committees are unconstitutionally too low, as applied and facially.
  4. Whether the biennial limit on contributions to candidate committees, 2 U.S. C. 441a(a)(3)(A), is unconstitutional for lacking a constitutionally cognizable interest.
  5. Whether the biennial limit on contributions to candidate committees, 2 U.S.C. 441a(a)(3)(A), is unconstitutionally too low.

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Facts

Congress enacted the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) of 1971 to increase accountability and fairness in political campaigns. See McCutcheon v. FEC, 893 F.Supp 2d 133, 134–35 (D.D.C.

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